Finding the Time

After last weeks 35 mile run I have been left with a confidence that I cannot accurately describe. The thought of running these long distances no longer scare me as much as they did, which is what I had hoped for when I set out to run last Sunday. With this confidence though I have also paid attention to what my body has been telling me.

My breathing was great on the run and my legs felt strong. This surprised me slightly due to the emphasis  I have been putting on weight training the past few weeks, but also told me that it was working as I hoped. Going with lighter weights and longer reps has helped my body deal with longer runs. The burpees I have been doing have also been helping. These have been great for the time being, but I know that I need to ramp things up a bit more as I progress through the month.

I also had a few weak spots that I did not expect, one in particular. The very top of my abdomen was in a lot of pain at the end of the run. I have known for a while that long distance running requires a good core, but this shocked me as to how far up the muscles were significantly used. To help correct this I have started doing a new kettlebell routine I have come up with that engages all areas of my core as well as various other muscle groups. 

Diet is still an area that I am working on tweaking, but as I progress forward and push a little more every day I can feel the mentality switching from "I really should train" to "I need to train... need to find my limits". This is obviously difficult with the lives we all have for any of us, but that cannot be an excuse! So for right now I am committing to 60-90 minutes of training per weekday and then 2-4 (or more) hours on the weekends. I will have recovery days, but these will still have "active recovery workouts" built in so I can maintain my momentum and maintain this mentality.

If there is anything I have learned from all of this over the past few weeks it is that my mentality is what can and will be my downfall. My body can obviously handle it so I need to ensure my mind can as well.

This week I want anyone that reads this to simply ask themselves "how can I push a little more today?" If you take this mentality you will be amazed by the results you get in a fairly short period of time! 

Make sure you register for the Pain in the Canal Virtual Challenge which starts this Saturday, May 15th and join me in pushing our limits and seeing what we can really achieve! Click here to register today.